Fred back at Shakhtar and Ismaily to follow

Shakhtar have revealed that midfielder Fred has reported back for training and team-mate Ismaily is also set to return.

The duo were among six players who failed to return to report for training with the Ukrainian champions due to political tensions in the country.

Alex Teixeira, Dentinho, Douglas Costa and Facundo Ferreyra are the other quartet who have been absent as Shakhtar prepare for the new season.

The club revealed on their website on Thursday that Brazilian Fred was back at the club and his compatriot Ismaily will follow "in the coming days", but there was no word on the other four absentees.

The absent players were thought to have stayed in France after Sunday's friendly with Lyon.

Earlier in the week, Shakhtar chief executive Sergei Palkin reassured players the club would only play their upcoming domestic campaign in a city classified as safe by UEFA.

"I would like to stress straight away that the issue of players' safety is the main priority of our club," he told Shakhtar's official website.

"Shakhtar will base itself, train and play only in those cities where the team's safety is guaranteed. Naturally, no one is going to take the players to the places where combat activity is under way or there's at least a small hint at an insecure stay.

"There are four [potential locations] at the moment: Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa. We are studying the pros and cons of each option and [will] ponder where Shakhtar will be based. But in any case, it will be one of the designated cities."

Palkin added that he was hopeful of being able to confirm the club's location for the coming season in the near future.

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